Structure frame

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a structure frame, especially for erecting seats, such as aircraft passenger seats, on the cabin floor ( 10 ) and/or for transport of these seats into and out of the cabin, in which one base frame at a time ( 28, 38, 40 ) is associated to at least one seat. In this way the seat can be handled as a modular unit together with the base frame, especially in a rigging process the aircraft cabin can be easily provided with seats, but in this way also cleared again by removing the seats from the cabin.

The invention relates to a structure frame, especially for erecting seats, such as aircraft passenger seats, on the cabin floor and/or for transport of these seats into and out of the cabin.

Modern aircraft passenger seats as are disclosed for example in DE 100 19 484 A1 permit a plurality of movement possibilities and associated degrees of freedom for the individual seat components, such as a seat part, a backrest and an associatable leg and foot rest. The known solution is characterized, among other things, in that the actual seat part can be erected on the cabin floor of the aircraft by way of a supporting framework, the supporting framework having a plurality of articulation points which connect the individual rods of the supporting frame to one another in an articulated manner and accordingly with a capacity to pivot, so that it is possible by way of a suitable control and adjustment means to adjust the entire seat with a plurality of individual positions, for example to move the seat from the upright position to a reclining position and vice versa depending on the requirements of the seat occupant and according to given safety criteria. To secure the individual sphere these aircraft passenger seats are often surrounded with a so-called sphere (shell) which moreover also ensures that body parts or articles cannot unintentionally reach the mechanisms of the supporting framework.

To fix these aircraft passenger seats, seat fastening devices which are also called fittings in the jargon are used. They are used to fix the opposing bottom pairs of legs to longitudinal members of the supporting framework of the seat to mounting rails which are generally recessed into the cabin floor and are made as a hollow section which is provided on its top facing the passenger seat with a longitudinal channel which is bordered by the free sides of the hollow section and which has through openings which widen its free entry cross section in a definable grid size and which are used for passage of the catch part of a locking body which for relative motion of the respective catch part transversely to the longitudinal axis of the mounting rail can be moved into clamping contact with the sides of the hollow section. Especially advantageously the solution according to DE 10 2004 047 455 A1 uses an eccentric locking drive for this purpose.

In this modular erection concept, each individual seat can optionally be erected with its associatable shell part along the mounting rails on the cabin floor and can be fixed there by means of seat fastening devices which are described by way of example. If the cabin is to be modified for freight purposes, that is, the installed seats removed again from the cabin or individual seats have to be replaced due to possible malfunctions or worn seat parts, each individual aircraft passenger seat must be handled in this respect; this is associated with the corresponding installation effort, which takes time and therefore generates costs, especially if it is considered that an aircraft out of service cannot generate profits. The known aircraft passenger seat solutions in terms of their basic structure, for example viewed with respect to the supporting framework, can also be made such that they also satisfy increased safety requirements, for example can withstand a 16 g crash test or in the torsion of the cabin which occurs in flight in the longitudinal direction of the aircraft (pitch and roll behavior) they are not adversely affected with regard to its stability. If each individual aircraft passenger seat has to be designed according to these criteria, correspondingly high material use is necessary; this leads to increased weight in use and accordingly to a reduction of the profitable payload of the aircraft.

On the basis of this prior art, therefore the object of the invention is to further improve the known solutions while retaining its high level of seating comfort which is designed according to ergonomic aspects such that short rigging and dismantling times can be achieved and that at low material costs increased stability which takes into account especially the given safety requirements is achieved. This object is achieved by a structure frame with the features of claim 1 in its entirety.

The structure frame according to the invention which is used especially to erect seats such as aircraft passenger seats on a cabin floor and/or for transport of these seats into and out of the cabin has at least one base frame associated to each seat. In this way the seat can be easily handled as a modular unit together with the base frame, especially in a rigging process the aircraft cabin can be easily provided with seats, but in this way also cleared again by removing the seats from the cabin, for example because it is needed for freight shipping purposes. The refitting times are especially short if preferably on the bottom of the base frame the seat fastening devices are already present for fixing the seat to the cabin floor by way of the indicated longitudinal rails; however this is not critically necessary. Likewise it is possible, as already shown in the prior art, to connect the seats to the cabin floor later by way of seat fastening devices, but now with interposition of the respective base frame.

The respective base frame also contributes significantly to the stability of the seat at the same time and if, as is shown in the prior art, a movable supporting framework is used to move the seat components, the respective base frame forms bracing for the supporting framework so that in this respect even with reduced material use for the bearing parts of the seat they can easily withstand the already mentioned 16 g test. It has also been found that for possible torsion of the cabin in the longitudinal direction during flight the base frame at least partially takes up these torsion forces and in this respect relieves the actual bearing structure of the seat The seat according to the invention therefore satisfies the pertinent safety criteria even if it is designed in a lightweight construction. Since the base frame can be designed as a standardized module, it can be produced especially economically in a large number of pieces. Together with the seat in its entirety, including a shell which may be provided, this yields an easily manageable seat system which in terms of the modular concept helps greatly facilitate erection or removal of all the seats of an aircraft cabin.

The use of the respective base frame as a structure frame need not be limited to use in aircraft cabins, but a corresponding frame concept could also be used for vehicles, especially motor coaches, ferries or the like; fundamentally however they are also suited for seating in large halls, such as for example performance halls or the like.

In one preferred embodiment of the structure frame according to the invention, to form a row of seats a base frame is detachably connected to at least one adjacent base frame by way of a connection site. Preferably here it is furthermore provided that the respective connection site forms an articulation which preferably allows relative motion of the base frames which are adjacently joined to one another parallel to the longitudinal axis of the aircraft cabin or its cabin floor. In this way it is possible, in order to route transverse forces, therefore occurring largely transversely to the indicated longitudinal axis, with formation of an overall structural frame, to connect the individual frame parts to one another and to effectively counteract the torsion forces which arise in this case, then a base frame being arranged to be pivotable, seen in relative terms, in the longitudinal direction to the other base frame.

If in one preferred embodiment of the structure frame according to the invention the indicated articulations can be locked, it is possible in this respect to handle the structure frame consisting of at least two base frames, preferably together with the associatable seats, in the locked base position as a transport unit and only in the rigged situation of use within the cabin to produce the desired degree of freedom for flying with the locking released.

This system has proven especially advantageous for a row with three or more seats, then two adjacent seats with their locked base frame being handled as a transport unit and the remaining seat or scats being handled separately as a further transport unit with the base frame associatable at the time as a structure frame.

In another especially preferred embodiment of the structure frame according to the invention, the respective base frame is built as a rectangle of longitudinal and cross members which are opposite in pairs, each cross member forming a possible connection site with the cross member of an adjacent base frame. This structure by way of longitudinal and cross members to a large degree allows bracing for the overall structure of the seat which stands on the base frame in this way.

Other advantageous embodiments of the structure frame according to the invention are the subject matter of the other dependent claims.

The structure frame according to the invention will be detailed below using one exemplary embodiment as shown in the drawings. The figures are schematic and not to scale.

FIG. 1 shows a perspective elevational view of one part of a row of three seats which has been erected on a cabin floor which is shown by way of an extract;

FIGS. 2 to 7 show the individual base frames in a perspective elevational view and in a facing front view, which, shown in the installation direction, according to an obvious connection, form the structure frame as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 for seating comprised of three seats according to FIG. 1;

FIGS. 8 and 9 show a representation according to FIGS. 2 to 7 in a perspective elevational view and in a face front view for the entire structure frame;

FIG. 10 shows an exemplary front view of the connecting pin for the illustrated base frames.

In the perspective view as shown in FIG. 1, 10 refers to the cabin floor of an aircraft cabin which is not detailed. Mounting rails 14 with a flat top are recessed into the cabin floor 10 parallel to the longitudinal axis 12 of the aircraft. By way of these mounting rails 14, seating designated overall as 16 can be fixed, consisting of three individual aircraft passenger seats 18 which are located next to one another in the transverse direction, of which for the sake of simplicity only the seat part 20 is shown, together with a supporting framework 22 located on the bottom, with four upright legs of the support frame which are diametrically opposite one another, and by means of which the associatable seat part 20 can be erected, the supporting framework movably using the corresponding actuators enabling a plurality of adjustment possibilities for the entire aircraft passenger seat (not shown). Both the backrest and also the foot and/or leg rest in addition to the armrests and a possible shell for the respective aircraft passenger seat 18 have been omitted, and of course these components can be added to the respective aircraft passenger seat 18. The cushions for the seat part 20 are not shown either.

The indicated mounting rails 14 on their top side which faces the respective aircraft passenger seat 18 have passage openings which are not shown and which have distances to one another in a definable grid and which are used for passage of catch parts of a locking body 24 which is also called a seat fitting in the jargon. By means of an eccentric or other locking means which is not specified, these catch parts of the locking body 24 can be fixed in each respective associatable mounting rail 14. These seat fastening devices are disclosed for example in DE 10 2005 033 048 which was published at a later date, and in DE 103 41 624 A1 of the applicant. While in these known solutions according to the prior art the bottom of the upright legs of the supporting framework 22 are detachably fixed on the cabin floor 10 directly for fixing the respective seat in pairs in the longitudinal direction opposite one another, both in the flight direction and also opposite, this takes place in the solution according to the invention with interposition of a structure frame 26 which is still to be detailed and which is shown functionally completely both in FIG. 1 and also in FIGS. 8 and 9.

The structure frame 26 is designed to be modular and for the three-seat arrangements shown in FIG. 1 is composed of a total of three individual modules. Here the middle base frame 28 is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The base frame 28 is built as a rectangular frame consisting of two adjacently opposite longitudinal members 30 and cross members 32. Furthermore this box-like frame on the bottom side is braced via a closing plate 34. This middle base module is made in a lightweight construction, preferably of aluminum material, and accordingly has a plurality of openings and engagement holes to save weight. Furthermore the base frame 28 on its top bears a braced part 36.

The base frame 28 obtained in this respect can be used as a so-called structure frame 26 for an individual aircraft passenger seat 18, i.e., this aircraft passenger seat (not shown) together with the base frame 28 can be handled as a modular unit, especially can be set up as a transport unit within the cabin, but can also be removed again; this is generally the case when the cabin is no longer being used as a passenger compartment, but as a shipping compartment for goods or luggage and the like. These articles can appropriately lashed down by way of the then cleared mounting rails 14 for shipping purposes.

In addition to simplified handling of a seat module built in this way with a base frame 28, there is also an especially torsionally stiff structure for the upright part of the seat part 20 in the form of the supporting framework 22. Based on the frame bracing on the bottom of the upright part for the seat, in this respect also an especially torsionally stiff structure is achieved for it, and torsional forces (roll and pitch moments) which may be routed into the cabin for example can be effectively absorbed in this way and their damaging effect can be limited. If it should be possible to fix the middle base frame 28 made by way of example as a structure frame on the cabin floor 10 via mounting rails 14, it can be provided likewise with fitting elements on its bottom; this is not necessary for the described structure frame as a whole according to the illustrated embodiment as shown in FIG. 1, since in this respect the base frames otherwise guarantee the fixing possibility.

In addition to the middle base frame 28, to produce the grouping of three shown in FIG. 1 for the structure frame 26 a left and a right base frame 38, 40 adjoin one another on either side, the specifications left and right relating to the direction of looking at the figures, and the left base frame 38 is detailed in FIGS. 4 and 5, the right base frame 40 in FIGS. 6 and 7. The other frames 38, 40 are designed in a box-type construction, consisting of longitudinal and transverse members 30 and 32, the respective bottom in turn being braced via the closing plate 34. The base frames 38 and 40 also have a part 36 which projects up.

As further shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, in turn the actual base frame for the base frames 38 and 40 is built as for the middle base frame 28 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, but modified in this respect in that in the direction of the middle base frame 28 the base frame structure of the cross members 32 is lengthened to the outside in the manner of a bridge. The bridge-like extension 42 which extends to the outside can be used as a fixing means to attach a shell which is not detailed for the respective aircraft passenger seat 18 or for several aircraft passenger seats located next to one another. The bridge-like extension 44 which projects to the inside on its free end has one projecting contact part 46 at a time which can be joined to the associatable contact parts 48 of the middle base frame 28 on either side.

The middle base frame as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, viewed in the direction of looking at the figures, on the left side on its contact part 48 shown there has a passage opening 50, and on the right side on top of one another there are two passage openings 50, each passage opening 50 penetrating the associatable contact part 48, and the passage openings 50 which are located in pairs opposite one another are flush with one another in the direction of the longitudinal extension of the longitudinal members 30. The respective contact parts 46, 48 can be integrally a component of the cross members 32; in this embodiment however the contact parts 46, 48 as angle pieces placed later on the respective base frame 28 are securely connected to it.

The contact parts 46 from the left and right base frame 38 and 40 can form a mouth-like enclosure as shown by way of example in FIG. 4, but as shown for the right base frame 40, they can be held by a shoulder-like widening of the end of the cross member 32 which is free at the time. In this respect the contact parts 46 have connection openings 52 which on the end side can each be made congruent to produce the overall structure frame 26, with the associatable through openings 50 of the other contact parts 48. The base structure which has been assembled in this way for the structure frame 26 is shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.

As the connecting part for joining the contact parts 46, 48 to one another and therefore to connect the different base frames to one another, a locking pin as shown in FIG. 10 is used as the connection part 54. This connection part 54 is provided on its one free end with a conically tapering end in order in this way to facilitate insertion of the connecting pin into the associatable openings 50, 52. As is to be seen especially from FIGS. 2 and 3, on the right side of the base frame 28 it is possible in an arrangement on top of one another to insert two connecting parts 54 into the contact parts 46 by way of the aligning passage openings 50, 52 on each cross member 32, on the opposing side of the base frame 28 then there being only one such passage possibility for the connecting pin. If the two connecting pins in an arrangement on top of one another are placed in each associatable contact part 46, 48, the two base frames 28 and 40 (right base frame) are permanently connected to one another and can be used in this way to transport two adjacent aircraft passenger seats 18.

This double seat arrangement can be moved into and out of the aircraft cabin very easily by means of handling devices which are not shown. If then first for a seat installation process the left base frame 38 in addition to the pertinent seat 18 is used, then in the manner of a double pallet the other components of the three-seat row follow in the form of two seats 18 which are connected to one another. If a pair of pins as the locking part 54 is removed at the connecting point of the base frame 28 with the right base frame 40 from each of the contact parts 46, 48, only one pair of pins remains and the pair of pins which has been released can be used to connect the left base frame 38 to the middle base frame 28 via the corresponding openings 50, 52. The pair of pins which is removed from the connecting site of the base frame 28 to the base frame 40 from the contact parts 46, 48 consists of front and rear pins and is removed either only as a lower or only as an upper pair of pins in order not to lose the degree of freedom of rotation in the illustrated sense. Pins inserted into the receivers should then be arranged opposite in the horizontal plane in order to enable the illustrated rotation.

A single-pair pin connection on both sides of the base frame 28 is shown for example in FIGS. 8 and 9. Since the respective locking part 54 in the form of the connecting pin forms a type of articulation with one possible degree of freedom parallel to the longitudinal axis of the cabin floor 10 or to the longitudinal axis 12 of the aircraft, a free tilt setting of the base frame 28, 38 and 40 parallel to its longitudinal members 30 is possible. If the aircraft cabin now twists, and therefore the cabin floor 10, in this respect the base frame can follow the respective torsion motion (pitch and roll), and still at the same time the cabin can contribute further bracing and to increasing the upright stability of the respective aircraft passenger seat. Axial movement of the connecting part 54 in the direction of the longitudinal axis 12 of the aircraft is stopped by known safeguarding means which are not detailed and which act on the connecting pin. With the seat frame concept according to the invention, it is possible to also satisfy increased certification requirements. In this way the newer so-called 16g forward test calls for shifting the seat sideways 10° out of the flight direction, then the seat base being “rolled” by 10° with the front and rear seat fitting and afterwards the nearest seat base being “pitched” around the rear seat fitting by 10° down, so that three-dimensional torsion of the entire seat forms which can be reliably absorbed by the base frame concept according to the invention, especially consisting of three individual base frames.

The seating can be dismounted in the reverse sequence and the connecting pin which has been removed from the receivers between the left base frame 38 and the middle base frame 28 can be inserted again into the opening 50, 52 which is now open between the right base frame 40 and the middle base frame 28 for locking of the pertinent frame. To prevent these locking parts from being placed offset to one another at this point in the mobility position, color markings (not shown) on the respective contact parts 46, 48 help counteract this wrong operation. Safeguarding the pin-like connecting part 54 via link chains or other straight safeguarding elements is precluded due to possible rattling noise and otherwise it must be ensured in any case that loose parts cannot travel into the actuating mechanisms for the seat 18.

The described connection simulation can also be undertaken between two individual base frames; likewise in this way two base structure frames can be connected to one another to form rows of four seats. Based on the illustrated arrangement as shown in FIGS. 1 to 10, it is moreover possible not to provide any fittings for the middle base frame 28 since in this respect the seat fastening devices 24 for the left and right base frames 38 and 40 enable fixing to the cabin floor 10 by way of the mounting rails 14. The connecting pin could also be replaced by other connecting parts which are not shown and which then made optionally as a multiple joint allow more than only one degree of freedom of motion for the frame. 

1. Structure frame, especially for erecting seats, such as aircraft passenger seats (18), on the cabin floor (10) and/or for transport of these seats into and out of the cabin, in which one base frame (28, 38, 40) at a time is associated to at least one seat (18).
 2. The structure frame according to claim 1, wherein to form a row of seats a base frame (28) is detachably connected to at least one adjacent base frame (38, 40) by way of a connection point.
 3. The structure frame according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the connection points forms an articulation.
 4. The structure frame according to claim 3, wherein the articulation allows relative motion of the base frames (28, 38, 40) which are adjacently joined to one another in at least one direction.
 5. The structure frame according to claim 4, wherein the relative motion consists of a pivoting motion in the direction around the common connection axis of the base frame (28, 38, 40).
 6. The structure frame according to claims 1, wherein the respective articulation can be at least partially blocked by a locking means.
 7. The structure frame according to claims 1, wherein the respective base frame (28, 38, 40) is built as a rectangle of longitudinal and cross members (30, 32) which are opposite in pairs and wherein each cross member (32) forms a possible connection point with the cross member (32) of an adjacent base frame.
 8. The structure frame according to claims 1, wherein a base frame (28, 38, 40) is associated to each seat (18) and wherein at least one part of the base frame (28, 38, 40) can be connected via fasteners (24) with longitudinal rails (14) which run in or on the cabin floor (10).
 9. The structure frame according to claims 5, wherein there is one connecting part (54) for the pivoting motion along the respective connecting axis.
 10. The structure frame according to claim 9, wherein at least one part of the connecting point (54) which can be moved away from an associatable connecting point elsewhere as a locking means enables locking of two adjacent base frames (28, 38; 28, 40).
 11. The structure frame according to claim 9, wherein the respective connecting part (54) is formed from a connecting pin which can be reversibly inserted into two openings (50, 52) of two adjacent base frames (28, 38; 28, 40), which openings are arranged congruently behind one another. 